Speed-recorder.



No. 859,673. PATENTED' JULY 9, 1907, G. LENNOX & R. STOTT.

SPEED RECORDER. APPLICATION FILED APR.11.1906.

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G. LBNNOX 61: R. STOTT.

SPEED Bacon D511. APPLICATION FILED, KPR. 11; 1906.

PATENTED JULY 9, 1907.

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Qeargel 622 72 0x Robewifltoi T15- 3 wmmr o A TTQHNE rs v PATENTED JULY 9, 1907. G. 'LBNNOX & R. STOTT.

SPEED RECORDER. APPLICIATIOII FILED 1 3.11, 1906.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3 UNITED s'ra' 'rns- -1- \.:rnn'r OFFICE.

7 sooner. Lnnnox, or nas'sii'ooon nsren'rs, NEW JERSEY, AND ROBERT s'rorn'or NEW YORK, Y.

SIEIEILREUORIDER.

No. seams.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 9,1907.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it loiown that we, GEORGE LENNOX, 'a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Hasbrouck Heights,

in the county of Bergen and State of New Jersey, ahd ROBERT Sror'r, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and a resident of the city of New York, borough of the Bronx, in the county and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Speed-Recorder, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to speed recorders and counters, such as carried by vehicles [or recording the speed thereof or the distance traveled. .While the invention may he used as an attachment for any moving vehicle, it is especially useful to the users of automobiles.

The invention consists in the constmction and combination of parts to be more fully described hereinafter and particularly'sct forth in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference-indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure l is a vertical section taken through the instrument and illustrating the means for driving the Fig. 2 is a. front elevation of the instrument, the forward plate there-of being represented as removed; Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 .01" Fig. 1 and illustrating details of construction; Fig. 4 is a section on the line %-l of Fig. 5 and illustratin the details of the counter; 5 is an elevation showingtwo adjacent wheels of the counter and illustrating the manner in which the carrying operation is effected; Fig. 6 is a cross section on the line 66 of Fig. 1, a portion of the recording chart being broken away; Fig. 7 is a section illustrating details of the mechanism for controlling the recording needle; Fig. 8 is a view illustrating details oi the governor, certain parts being shown in section and broken away; and Fig. 9 represents a short portion of the chart or Web.

Referring more particularly to the parts, and especially to Figs. 1 and 2, 1 represents a case of any suitable form. Within this nse there is mounted a clockv motor- 2, from the main arbor 3 whereof a shaft 4 is driven, which shaft meshes with avertical, shaft 5, and this shaft is rotatably mounted in suitable been ings 6 attached to the side wall of the case, as indicated.

The upper extremity of the shaft 5 is provided with a worm 7 and this worm operates through a worm wheel 8 to drive a pulley 9, which pulley is mounted in a horizontal position upon suitable brackets 10 att .chod to the side walls'of the case asindicated. In the roar of "the case and in the upper portion thereof there is mounted a supply spool 11 upon which there is Wrapped a web 12 which is formed into a recording.

chart by means of transverse curved lines 13 and 1011- gitudinally disposed lines 14. This web is guided forwardly as indicated in Fig; l and passes downwardly over the face of the pulley 9. Below this point it passes about a transverse guide roller 15, from which it passes upwardly and over a second guide pulley 16 mounted in the upper portion of the case. From this guide pulley-l6 it passes downwardly and rearwardly to a delivery spool 17 upon which it winds. From this arrangement it should be understood that the clock mechanism affords means for continuously advancing the web chart.

In order to wind the web upon the spool 17 the most clearly in Fig. 2, we attach brackets 20 whichcarry guide spools 21, and these guide spools afford means for guiding a transfer material such as an ink ribbon 22 which may be an ordinary typewriter ribbon. From this arrangement, the ribbon referred to passes-transversely of the case, as will be readily understood. The body of the ribbon is wrapped upon spools or bobbins 23 which are suitably mounted at the rear of the case, as indicated .most clearly in Fig. 6. The spools 23 may be mounted on suitable brackets 24 as shown.

In the forward portion of the case we provide a recording needle 25 which normally is disposed in the position shown in Fig. 2. It is rotatably mounted at its lower extremity upon a pin 26, and is provided witha slot 28 which is disposed in a substantially radial direction from the pivot pin 26. In the upper extremity of the needle 25 a recording point or stylus 29 is attached, and the point of this stylus rests against the outer face of the ribbon 22, it being observed that the ribbon passes outside of the web 12 and-across the plate-19 in a transverse direction with respect to the web.

We provide mechanism for controlling the position of the needle 25, according to the speed developed by the vehicle. For this purpose, at a suitable point in the lower portion of the case, we mount a frame plate 30, as indicated in Fig. 2; in this frame plate there is mounted a horizontal .arbori-il, the outer extremity whereof is mounted in the side wall 32 of the case.

Referring new -I0 Fig. Ll, $6. mount rotatably upon the-arbor 31 .9. level-.33, toctbeextmnity whereof we.

attach a link 34 which extends downwardly as indicated in Fig. l, passing through a suitable opening 35.) in the body 36 of the vehicle. This link attaches at its extremity to a plunger 37 which is mounted longitudinally in the bracket 38 attached to the body of the vehicle as indicated. This bracket 38 is formed into a barrel 39 which receives a coiled spring 40, and this spring thrusts against a fixed collar 41 which is attached to the plunger near the lower extremity thereof. From this arrangement, the spring operates to hold the plunger normally in its most depressed position. The lower extremity of the plunger projccted from the end of the barrel 39, and carries a roller 42, and this roller is adapted to be displaced upwardly by a cam 43 which is carried on a wheel 44 of the vehicle as indicated by broken lines in Fig. 1. The weight of the lever 33 is counterbalanced by a spring 45, the lower extremity whereof attaches to the lever, while its upper extremity is attached to a pin 46 on the side wall of the case. From this arrangement, evidently as tlie' whecl 44 rotates, the lever 33 will be rcciprocated. In this connection it should be understood that the spring is of greater power than the spring 45, so that, although the spring operates to assist the upward movement of the lever, it does not prevcntits being returned to its pressed position when the pmnger is returned by its spring.

, This loverfifi constitutes a pawl carrier and is prosite extremity is rotatably mounted in on the shaft as vided with a pawl. 47, indicated in dotted lines in Fig. l the said pawl being pressed by a suitable spring 48. This W1 is in engagement with a ratchet wheel 49 which is rigidly mounted on the arbor 3i referred to above. Opposte the pawl 47 a detentpawl 50 is arranged, which is pressed by a spring 51 so that it also engages the teeth of the ratchet wheel in such a way as to prevent a retrogrr-rssive movement thereof.

pawl carrier or lever 33 moves downwardly, the pawl 47 carried thereby operates to advance the ratchet wheel. Rigidly attached to the arbor 3L9, coiled or spiral spring 52 is provided, and the outer extremity of this spring is rigidly attached the arbor 31. Meshing with this gear wheel 53 there is a pinion 54 which is carried upon a rotating arbor 55, and the outer extremity of this arbor carries a gear wheel 56 which meshes with a pinion 57, the said pinion being rigidly mounted upon a governor shaft This governor shaft is mounted in a horizontal position in the lower portion of thecase, one extremity being carried in a side wall of the case, while the oppothe frame plate 30. On the governor shaft 58 near the sidewall of thd case, there is rigidly attached a cross head 59, and. a similar cross head'GO is provided near the opposite end of the shaft; but this cross head 60 is loosely mounted indicated most clearly in Fig. 8. The arms of the cross heads 59 and 60 are connected by resilient strips or whips 61, made of light spring steel or similar material, and at a suitable point upon these whips, governor weights such as the balls 62 are carried. As indicated most clearly in Fig. 8, the cross head 60 is formed with a reduced neck 63 to which there attaches the extremity of a. link 64, the'said link being retained: by means of a suitable collar 65 as shown.

Fmm this arrangement it should be understood that when the to the face of a gear wheel 53, which gear wheel is loosely mounted upon This link depends from the governor shaft 58 as shown in Figs. 2 and 8, and it is attached to a lever 64 pivoted at 64" and terminating in an offset pin 66 which in received in the aforesaid slot 28 in the needle 25. It should be understood that by reason of the continued rocking of the lever 33, the spring 52 will become wound up and will exert a relative force upon the gear wheel 53. Through the gear wheels described above, this gear wheel 53 transmits a rotation at a high speed to the governorshsft 58, and evidently the speed of rotation of this governor shaft will depend upon the degree of tension existing in the spring 5 2; in other words, upon the speed of revolution of the wheel 44. As the speed of rotation of the governor shaft 58 is high, the centrifugal force acting upon the weights 62 will operate to throw the same outwardly, defiectingor bowing the whips 61 in a well understood manner. In this way the effective length of the whips becomes shorter so that they operate to draw the cross head 60 toward the right as viewed in Fig. 2. The link 64 moving with the cross head, operates, through the medium of the pin 66 and the slot 28, to throw the upper extremity of the needle 25 toward. the left. In this way the amount of displacement of the recording stylus from the rightls an index of the speed of the vehicle.

At the edge of the web, numbers are placed to correspend. with the transverse curved lines 13 referred to above, and these numbers indicate hours and quarterhours. At the end of the web numbers placed which correspondv to the divisions made by the longitpdinal lines 13, each division corresponding to a speed of live miles. If the vehicle carrying the instrument. is speeded up to approximately thirty-five miles, the stylus will draw a line such as the line .67 indicated in Fig. 9. As long as the speed of thirtydiv inilesis maintained, the recording stylus will maintain itself at substantially the thirty-fivemile line. Ii, however, the speed is immediately allowed to become reduced, the stylus will rule a second line 68 which will'lie near the first but which will be separated therefrom by a short space indicating the time spent in making the run.

The counter 69 will now be described: As indicated in Fig. 1, it is located in the forward and substantially the middle portion of the case; it comprises a transverse horizontal shaft 70 upon which are mounted a plurality of counter wheels such as the wheels 7 I and 72 illustrated in Fig. 5. Just before the wheels, a transverse face plate 73 is arranged, having openings 74 as indicated in Fig. 2, through which the numbers of the wheels are visible. The transverse shaft 79 is rotated through the medium of a gear wheel 75 which is attached to the projecting extremity of the arbor 31' as indicated most clearly in Figsi 2 and 7. This gear wheel'meshes with an idler 76 which meshes, in turn,

with a second gear wheel 77 which is rigidly carried by the shaft 70. With this arrangement the rotation of the arbor 31 which is produced by the reciprocation of the lever 33, rotates continuously the shaft F0. The unit wheel which is the wheel 71 located at-the right in Fig. 5, is rigidly attached to the shaft 70; the other wheels alllaese. This wheel 73. is provided on the face which is disposed toward the wheel 72, with a dog 78, the bodypf which is of resilient material and bent into a how 79. The extremity of this dog pro- IUD llO

atoms iccts toward the tens wheel 72. -On the face of the. wheel 72 which'is disposed adjacent to the wheel 71, a ratchet wheel 80 is attached, and the teeth of this ratchet wheel point in a rear direction with respect to the dircctionoi rotation of the wheel in advancing the same. There is provided a transverse shaft 81 which carries a plurality of leaf springs 82, the extremities whereof rest respectively against the ratchet wheel 80 of the wheels, it being understood in this connection that all of the wheels except the unit wheel are provided with ratchets similar to the ratchet 80. Through the medium of a transverse bar 83, the extremity of 7 each of the springs 82 is held down against the upper side of the corresponding ratchet wheel 80, so that these springs 82 operate as detent pawls to holdthe wheels in position. The extremities of the dogs 78 are disposed just out of the reach of the teeth of the ratchet wheels, so that the dog, in approaching the co-operating leaf spring or detent pawl 82', will occupy at one instance, substantially the position in which it is'indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 4. As the movement of the wheel of lower denomination progresses, the dog 78 contacts with the under side of the correspondingleaf spring 82 and is forced into the position under the end of the spring as indicated in full lines in Fig. 4. With the continued rotation of the wheel of the lower denomination, the dog 78" engages the tooth oi the ratchet wheel which lies in its path and advances the wheel through one-tenth of a revolution before it releases itself from the extremity of the spring As soon as it is released in this manner, it resumes its former position so that it will clear the points of the teeth, oil-- I abling it to ro'tate without further. affecting the wheel.

In this way the carrying from one wheel to the next is effected. In this connection it is, of course, understood that there are ten ratchet teeth on the ratchet wheels 80, corresponding to the ten numerals arranged in succession progressively, as indicated in Fig. 5 on the faces of the wheels. The proportion of the gear; ing is such that the numbers on the wheels will indi cate miles traveled by the vehicle; thus, in Fig. 2, the counter indicates that 11140 miles have been traveled. The mode of operation of the instrument will be briefly stated: The clock motor 2 opcratesthrough the gearing as descrlbedabove, to drive continuously the pulley 9 over which passes the web 12. In, this way the web is advanced continuously from the supply spool 11 to the delivery or receiving spool 17. Over the face of the web 12 the ribbon 22 is disposed. In this way, as the time passes, the web 12 is fed at a uni-. iorni rate under the point of the needle 25. As the wheel 44 reciprocates, it operates, through the medium of the plunger 37, to rock the lever 33, and this lever, through the medium of the pawl 47, winds up the spring 52 and maintains the same in a woundcondition. In this way a rotative force is transmitted through the gear wheel 53 and its following train to the governor shaft 58. The governdr weights which are carried by this shaft fiy outwardly when the vehicle is advancing at a high speed proportionately to the speed which it has attained In this way the link 64 operates through the lever 64* to control the position of the needle 25. The co-operative action of the needle and the advancing web operates to draw a diagram upon the chart, indicating the speed of the vehicle at any time.-

Having thus described our invention, we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. in an instrument of the class described, in combination, means for advancing a web, a needle mounted to act upon said web, a governor controlling said needle, an

arbor, a spring carried thereby, mechanism connecting one extremityof said spring with said governor for driving the same, a ratchet wheel carried by said arbor, a rocking lever mounted on said arbor, a pawl carried thereby engaging said ratchet wheel to 'wind said spring, and means for rocking said lever when the vehicle advances.

- 2. In an instrument of the class described, in combination, means for advancing a web, a needle mounted to not upon said web, a governor controlling said needle, an arbor, [1 spring carried thereby, mechanism connecting one extremity of said spring with said governor for driving the same. aratcliet wheel carried by'suid arbor, a rocking lever mounted on said arbor, a pawl carried thereby engag ing said ratchet wheel to wind said spring, means for rocking said lever when the vehicle advances, and a detent .ing,part of the veliicle, ':ind a spring attached to said level.

i 4. In an instrument of the class described, in comblni1- 'tionjan indicating needle, a governor connected therewith for controlling the same, an arbor, a spring surrounding said arbor and huvlng its inner extremity attached thereto, a gear wlieelattaclied to the outer extremity of said spring, a gear connecting said gear wheel with said governor for driving the same, a lever pivotnlly. mounted on said arbor. mechanism for actuating said lever from a wheel lit the vehicle a ratchet wheel carried by said arbor, and a pawl carried by said lever for actuating said ratchet wheel,

m an instrument oi the class described, in combination, a. needle, a rocking lever, mechanism between said rocking lever and said needle 'for controlling said needle, n spring attached to said lever and tending to force the same toward an extreme position, a plunger connected with saidlever and adapted to be engaged by a wheel of the vehicle, and a spring constraining said plunger and opposing said first spring.

in testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE LENNOX. ROBERT s'ro'r'r.

Witnesses HENRY Iisnnnni'rn, WILLIAM Norman. 

